google says : Ewing Irrigation
Mon-Fri: 7 to 5
Sat: 8 to 12
5260 Brittmoore Rd
Houston, TX 77041-
Phone: (713) 937-3799

Here is a link that might be useful: Ewing irrigation

Or Southwest Fertilizer @ 5828 Bissonnet 713-666-1744

A yellow pages search for John Deere Landscapes in your area would also likely reveal sources.

Al

that was fast, thanks!

Al, can I skip the grit/granite altogether? Here in Houston, it gets so hot that even the large 20" containers need watering every day. I was thinking of doing 1:1 pine bark and turface, and maybe watering every other day.

I include the grit for 3 reasons - because I don't need all the extra water retention, because it adds to soil longevity by allowing me to keep the organic fraction of the soil at 1/3 or less (and not have too much water retention), and varying the amount of grit/Turface while keeping the bark fraction at 1/3 or less adds (water holding) adjustability to the soil. The equal parts recipe is only a suggestion, based on my own experiences and the reports I get from others in different climes. The important part is that you understand the reasons for the different ingredients and the concept behind the soil. It's not a soil I'm pushing, it's the idea that durability/long term aeration are a very desirable properties in container media. If you do understand the reasoning and you happen to run into difficulty, you'll know how to fix it.

Good luck, & take care.

Al

I haven't found what I would consider a good source of pine bark fines in the Houston area either. I usually just buy pine bark nuggets and put them through a chipper/shredder. There is a mulch/dirt company that use to sell pine bark fines but stopped because there was wasn't enough demand.

this is what I use, but it's finer than pine bark. But I think I can get away with it because I really do need the additional water retention. I do not overpot my plants, so perched water table is minimal:

Lowe's has 40 lb bags of topsoil....but it's not really topsoil, it's more like decomposed fine pine plus sand. It's only $1 a bag. It's so fine and pretty I need to take a picture of it.

Any real answer to this question? I did get Turface at the place on Bissonett a few years ago, but I live in Katy now and am never down in that area.